About Coldstream ice climbs:

Up in the headwaters of coldstream
valley north fork lies a nice granite outcrop that
often has good ice in the winter. Ranging from WI 2 to
WI 5, there's plenty to keep U busy for a day. 1/2
to 1 and a half pitch routes.
Although some whankers have named these routes,
(things like "code red" and "code blue") I prefer to leave them nameless. and I've climbed up there since B4
the "first ascents" happened (scoff).
And I'm sure others climbed there in the early 70's.
The easy stuff is on the right, and some tougher stuff is on the left.
Problem is, we're in the sierra, so lotsa days these
things are melted out. Ask me and I can hopefully
give some info on conditions. If you want directions,
forget it. If yer too lazy/dumb to figger it out yourself,
you don't belong there. It's about an hour ski in if you're
moving along at a good clip. Or a four hour trudge if you're
an expert ice climber from the bay area.

Approach:

If you have never been here, go with someone who has, or use a GPS. If it's your first trip in, budget some extra time for getting lost. The ski down from the top of Sugar Bowl ($15) is easiest. The slog up from the bottom avoids avi hazards. Check avi conditions first: http://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/
And like the vibe you get from the above description, Tahoe climbers can be a bit territorial. Ironically it's probably a subset of the Tahoe crew who use snow-mobiles for the approach.
Do NOT try driving your truck up from the bottom of coldstream canyon - at best you'll tear up the snow cover on the trail and make it a whole 400 yards before getting stuck.

Approach Time:

1hr 20min from Sugar Bowl. 2 hrs from bottom of canyon. Approach is rather condition dependent.